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MEMOIR 



OF 



FRANCIS JEWETT PARKER 



BY 



WILLIAM CARVER BATES 



BOSTON 
PRESS OF DAVID CLAPP & SON 

19 9 






Reprinted from the 

New England Historical and Genealogical Register 

for July, 1909 



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FKANCIS JEWETT PARKER 



Francis Jewett Parkee was bom in Boston March 3, 1825, 
and died there January 20, 1909. He was descended from Abraham' 
Parker, one of the original settlers of Chelmsford, Mass., and a free- 
man in 1645, tlu-ongh Moses,^ Samuel,' Aaron," Isaac,* Abel," and 
Isaac\ His grandfather Judge Abel Parker of Jaflfrey, N. H., mar- 
ried Edith, daughter of Jedediah Jewett of Pepperell, Mass., and 
granddaughter of Joseph Jewett of Groton, Mass. Francis Jewett 
Parker was the son of Isaac and Sarah (Ainsworth) Parker of JafFrey, 

Isaac Parker, who had declined " to go to college " as tlu-ee of Iiis 
brothers had gone, came to Boston from Keene, N. H., in 1817, 
estabhshed liimself in business,. and early took up with "store keep- 
ing." Selling manufactures of wool and cotton "by the piece" was 
the beginning of the commission and mill agency business which has 
been continued by successors of the firm of Isaac Parker and Com- 
pany to the present time. 

Francis Parker's education was mainly pursued through the public 
schools of Boston, enchng at the Enghsh High School, with one year 
at the Latin School. Judging by some notes made by Col. Parker 
quite late m life, he did not specially endear hunself to Masters Dilla- 
way, Oliver, or Sherwin by his proficiency in any of the branches 
taught; indeed there was one year's enforced absence M'hich was 
spent at a private school. 

He married, April 28, 1846, Anna Wliitney, daughter of Josiah 
Dwight Lyiuan of Northfield, Mass. Three children Avere born to 
them, Frank Vose Parker, Clara V. Parker, and Elizabeth Lpnan 
Parker. Frank V. Parker married Mary Codman, and theu- daugh- 
ter, Gertrude Codman Parker, manned, March 23, 1903, Sh Gilbert 
Thomas Carter, then Governor of the Bahama Islands, and now 
Governor of Barbadoes. Frank V. Parker died in 1903. Elizabeth 
Lyman Parker married William Brooks Cabot, now residing at Dub- 
Im, N. H. Clara V. Parker resides at JafFrey, N. H. 

Col. Parker's career in mercantile life was most honorable, as was 
that of all his forbears. He was long associated with the business of 
cotton manufacturmg and the sale of mill products. At one time he 
was a member of the fii'm of Parker, Wilder, Parker and Company, 
and was also treasurer for a time of the Monadnock Manufacturing 
Company. 



Mr. Parker pursued his mercantile vocation, finding in it that 
training in practical affairs which enabled him to become a good citi- 
zen, a brave soldier, and a Christian gentleman, and by studious 
reading qualifying for the society of scholars, which is usually reserved 
to the recipient of academic degrees. Civic affairs also received his 
attention, and he served the City of Boston in its Common Council 
in 1856, in the Senate of Massachusetts in 1858, and as Representa- 
tive to the General Court from Boston in 1861. 

On the breaking ouf of the Civil War, Governor Andrew ap- 
pointed Mr. Parker Major of the Fkst Battalion, Massachusetts In- 
fantry. In November, 1861, the battalion was sent to Fort Warren 
where Mason and Slidel and some eight hundred Confederate soldiers 
were confined. Major Parker was advanced to Lieutenant Colonel 
in May, 1862, and the battalion was ordered to Washington to join 
the Army of the Potomac. Col. Parker's army experience has been 
told in his "Histoiy of the 32d Massachusetts Infantry." 

In 1877 Col. Parker went to live in Newton. His mature judg- 
ment and experience in affairs made him a force in this progressive 
suburban city. He was drafted into the service of his townsmen as 
one of three commissioners for the introduction of water in 1874-5, 
and remained until February, 1878, by which time the water system 
had been well established. 

Though a Democrat, he was chosen Senator from the 4th Mid- 
dlesex District, being elected in a Republican stronghold over liis 
contestant. He recalled that in 1858 he was the youngest, and 
in 1876 the oldest, member of the Senate. In 1881-2 Col. Parker 
was one of a commission for the revision of the city charter of New- 
ton, advocating in a minority report the adoption of one board of 
aldermen with the mayor. 

On coming to Newton, he identified himself with Grace Church 
(Episcopal) Parish, and was an active member of the building 
committee for the construction of the new church building in 
1871-2. An appreciative criticism of Col. Parker's churchmanship 
at this period comes to us from the rector. Rev. George Wolfe 
Shinn, D.D., who says: "It would be impossible to understand 
Col. Parker and the work he did unless we take account of the fact 
that he was not only a religious man, but intensely so. He was 
brought up in the Congregational faith, but came into the Episcopal 
Church bringing with him what he had learned of religion as the 
source of personal integrity and then taking hold most eagerly of the 
doctrine of the corporate life of Cln-istians in the Church of Clu-ist. 
It makes a good combination — downright old Puritanism and staunch 
Episcopacy. We saw both in him, for he carried his religion into 
everyday life and he rejoiced to be in the fellowship of a religious 
body which he believed, with all his heart, to be a branch of the his- 
toric Church. He was not a demonstrative religious man in the 
sense of speaking freely to others of his personal religious experiences. 



He preferred to put liis faith into deeds and by uprightness of life 
and by the rectitude of his aiFairs, whatever he did, carry out the 
teachings of our Lord. It would be hard to overstate the intensity 
of liis affection for the Episcopal Chiu-ch and the enjoyment he gained 
from participating in its services and usages. He became so strong 
a Churchman that some who were less ardent could not always under- 
stand his position. Many friends will long cherish the memory of a 
kindly, gracious presence, almost always cheerful, sometimes brilliant 
with humor, ready to express condemnation of what he thought was 
wrong and equally ready to advocate what he believed to be rioht. 
The world would be better and society and business life would be 
purer if there were more men like Col. Parker." 

Col. Parker in middle life was widely interested in public affau's, 
and his printed papers, criticisms, and discussions cover a wide 
range of subjects. He expressed himself with vigor and, though 
often in the minority, was imdeterred by opposition. The Tuesday 
Club at Newton furnished a favorite opportunity for the expression 
of his views, and its records show the following titles of essays by 
him : Towns and Then- Government Works, The Liquor Question, 
Smith's History of Newton, The Pilgrim and Puritan, Trial by Jury 
and Courts of Law, Disestablishment. Col. Parker compiled the 
Genealogy of the Ainsworth Families of America. He wi'ote in 
reviews The Huguenots, The Holy Eastern Church, The Mexican 
Empu-e (Maximilian), and the American Union. 

Mr. Samuel B. Eindge, of the firm of Parker, Wilder and Com- 
pany, dymg intestate. Col. Parker was appointed one of the admin- 
istrators, and he was for many years associated with Mr. Frederick 
H. Rindge as agent and advisor in the direction of the benefactions 
of this large estate. It was in this latter position that tliis man of 
aflfairs, of sound business judgment, was able to influence the moral 
and material interests of a large neighboring city with a self-effacino- 
zeal none the less beneficent because not generally recognized by 
the public. 

Col. Parker furnished to volume three of the New England Historic 
Genealogical Society's Memorial Biographies a sketch of Isaac Par- 
ker, his father, a notable man, as was his grandfather. Judge Abel 
Parker. Col. Parker wrote of his grandfather, "Judge Abel Par- 
ker, the fiither of Isaac, was a man of commanding presence, at once 
dignified and courteous, one with whom intimacy would seem to 
have been difficult, and trifling impossible. His ideas of personal 
integrity and individual honor were of the strictest, and he possessed 
a marvellous self-reliance, both in thought and action. What he 
once decided to be right was the thing to be done, and so far as his 
influence went, it was done. Military taste and patriotic impulse 
had made him a soldier in early manhood ; faithful service with dili- 
gent study had raised him in rank, first in the army, and afterward 
in civil life, and it was his cherished boast that of the many honors 



and offices which he had received or occupied not one had been the 
result of his own solicitation or request. The contrast between the 
Judge and his wife [Edith (Jewett) Parker of Pepperell] was a 
marked one. She was active and impulsive, quick to sympatliize 
with all about her ; gifted with a keen perception of the humorous 
and with a gladsome and kindly spirit which enabled her at all times 
to bring cheer and courage to the despondent or the timid. Straight- 
forward performance of duty was the first principle with the Judge 
and earnest sympathy was the leading characteristic of the Judge's 
wife. Theu' household was a busy one. In it old time family dis- 
cipline was maintained, religious duties were honored by observance, 
and its members were bound each to the other by ties of love and 
by respect for duty. Under such home influences the character of 
Isaac Parker was formed and moulded. In him were blended the 
characteristics of both his parents and to such effect that Judge Jere- 
miah Smith, a man not given to unnecessary compliment, said of 
him that ' Isaac Parker was the only young man that he ever saw 
who did not need to be made over.' " 

Of Isaac Parker the Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, a business asso- 
ciate for many years, wrote : " As a merchant and citizen of Boston, 
the memory of Isaac Parker will be cherished by all who knew him. 
In all the relations of life, whether public or private, he had the 
reputation of a high sense of honor and unbending integrity. His 
moral, political, and religious sentiments were matters of fixed and 
controlling conviction. He was always anxious to do right and to 
be just. He was very considerate, conservative, and cautious, but 
having come to a conclusion, he was as immovable as the granite 
hills of his native state. He was very industrious, systematic, and 
punctual, and dispatched business with facility but never without 
deliberation. He had at heart the best interests of humanity, and 
was ever ready to bestow his influence for the improvement of those 
around him. He was eminently a peacemaker, never having con- 
troversies, if possible to avoid them, and was anxious to do to others 
as he would have them do to him. Mr. Parker Avas remarkable for 
the uniformity of his character, and he will long be remembered in 
the annals of Boston as one of her distinguished merchants, as one 
of her pioneers in the traffic of domestic fabrics, and as one notable 
for his integrity, firmness, and good judgment, — in short as an en- 
lightened merchant and a Christian gentleman." 

In contemplating the career and character of these tlu-ee genera- 
tions of the Parker family, we come to a new appreciation of and 
pride in the sterling values of the New England civilization, a pro- 
duct of Puritan and Pilgrim inheritance. 



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